Trunk



Aug. 15, 1933. G. H. WHEARY TRUNK 's Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 6, 1932 O0 OOOOOOOO OO ooooOooooooooOOOoobo ATTORNEY.

1933- G. H. WHEARY 1,922,065

TRUNK Filed June 6, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR.

ORNE Y.

Aug. 15, 1933. G. H. WHEARY 1,

TRUNK Filed June 6, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 7 i Z 1 4 V W- r E 4/5. y/ A i 0 i W k fl- 5 /6 1NVEN'l "OR.

ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 15, 1933 TRUNK Geor e Henry Whcary, Racine, Wis., assignor to Wheary Trunk Company, Racine, Wis., a Corporation of Wisconsin 7 Application June 6, 1932. Serial No. 615,598

9 Claims. (01. 19- 2-13) p This invention relates to trunks and more particularly to a trunk of the wardrobe type having a drawer section and a wardrobe section.

It is an object of the present invention to pro vide an improved roller construction for the movable section of a wardobe trunk which eliminates complicated systems of levers and in which the weight of the swinging section is borne by a a portion of the trunk during the initial opening movement.

It is a further object of the present invention to have a pair of roller supports one of which is adapted to take the weight of the swinging section during the first part of the openingnrovement and a second roller to take the weight of the movable-section during the remainder of the opening movement.

Another object of ne present invention is to provide an automatic locking device which will hold portions oi the trunk more firmly assembled and generally strengthen the construction of such trunks. 7

Other objects of the present invention are to generally improve the construction of wardrobe thereof and increasing. the strength; and other objects will become apparent upon consideration.

. ofthe following specification.

-A--structure embodying the invention is illus- 35- Figure 1 is a perspective View of a trunk embodying the present invention showing the swinging section partly open;

Figure 2 is a transverse section view through a the trunk showing the castor mechanism;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional View on the line .33 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a detail of the clamping mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows; and l Figure 6 is a cross section on the line 66 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows. Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, the trunk comprises a fixed section 10 and a movable section 12 hinged along one edge thereof so as to swing from closed to 5 open position, the fixed section 10 being formed trated in the accompanying drawings and will Figure 5 is a cross section on the line 55 of integrally on a base 14 which extends under both the fixed and the movable section. p

The movable section 12 is spaced from the base 14: so as to facilitate opening and closing of the trunk, without having the movable section drag on the flooring. A plurality of walls 16 and l? are attached to the base in the usual manner, the

walls 16 and l 7 together with a third wall par- .allel to the wall 16 defining a storage compartment 20, the walls of the compartment 20 meeting and forming a continuation of the walls of the movable section 12 of thetrunk. The compartment 20 may be provided with a cover 21 attached to a suitable partition 22 in the fixed section 10 by a hinge 23 or the like.

The wall 17 has a corner plate 25 on the corner 2 formed inthe corner plate 25 which opens into a compartment 28 for housing a castor 29 on the movable section. An angle plate 30 is fixed on the corner of the movable section 12 corre- .25 trunks with the View to lightening the weight spondingtothe corner 25, the lower edges of the angle 30 cooperatingwi-th the upper edges of the corner 25 in forming a closure between the movable section 12 and the base compartment 20.

n the depending plate 32 preferably by riveting,- the horizontal arm 3'5 pivotally mounting the castor 4 29so that upon closing .the movable section 12, the castor 29xmovesinto the compartment 28 and is concealed by the closure 32. If desired, a

reinforcing plate 38 may be provided for the bottom of the corner 25' upon which the castor 9 29 is adapted to rest in closedposition.

The compartment 28 is formed of a substantially rectangular metal'box having an open front which abuts and is fastened to the wall 17 of the.

compartment 20 and an open bottom fastened to the upper surface of the base 14 in any suitable manner. The base is cut away as shown at 40 around the inside of the compartment so that V the castor 29 may rest directly on the corner plate 12 is raised slightly to lift the castor 01f the'fioor and into the compartment 28 by a mechanism about to be described.

In order to raise the castor 28 off the floor and above the lower edge of the aperture 27, a second castor or roller is provided which may be mounted on the top of the compartment 28 and fixed in position thereon, the extended axis of the castor passing through the hinged connection between the fixed and the movable section of the trunk.

A cam, generally referred to as 48, is fixed to a partition 49 across the bottom of the movable section 12, and rides on the roller 45 to lift the castor 29 off the surface of the floor and over the lower edge of the aperture 27. The cam 48, which is built primarily to be effective on the closing of the trunk, has relatively flat, downwardly sloping cam surfaces 51 which break into a relatively steep, upwardly sloping cam surface 53 projecting beyond the end of the partition 49 and into the stationary compartment 10 through an aperture 54 in the partition 22.

The cam 48, which is built of spring metal, has the forward end bent backwardly from the steep cam surface 53 as shown at 56 and fastened to the under side of the partition 49 in any desired manner. After the castor 29 has passed over the lower edge of the aperture 27, the cam 48 slopes away fromthe roller 45 as shown at 5'7 to prevent binding from a gripping member 60 to be described in greater detail below.

In opening the trunk, the movable section 12 is swung outwardly so that the sloping surface 51 of the cam 48 contacts the roller 45 and raises the movable section 12 slightly so as to lift the castor 29 above the lower edge of the aperture 27 and supportit above the floor upon which the trunk is resting throughout the rise of the cam 51. Upon swinging out a sufficient distance, the

steeper slope 53 is encountered which drops the movable section 12 downwardly until the castor f 29 contacts the'fioor after-which time the castor 29 supports the outer edge of the movable section 12 above the floor in an obvious manner. In closing, the cam surface 53 contacts the roller 45, the spring material in the cam 53 and the bent back portion 56- giving sufficient resiliency to prevent jar upon the trunk. The cam surface 53 raises the movable section 12 while the cam surface 51 allows the movable section to roll into closed position on the roller 45, the

, downward slope of the cam 51 aiding'in closing the trunk.

Referring to Figs. 1, 4, 5 and 6, the clamping mechanism is shown as comprising a stationary member 63 mounted on and above the wall 16, and a movable member 65 mounted on the corresponding wall of the movable section 12.

The member 63 is preferably cast from a suitable metal and comprises a flat attaching portion 67 fastened to the wall 16 with a bulged portion 68 adjacent the upper end thereof. The bulged hollow portion 68 terminates in a shelf 70 seen in' Figs. 4, 5 and 6. A cam surface 72 is formed integrally on the shelf 70 and cooperates with a member on the movable portion 65 in drawing the two sections together. The cam member 72 may be covered with a housing 74 having an open face adjacent the closed section 12, the housing being adapted to conceal the clamping mechanism.

The movable member 65 comprises a base plate '75 fitted on the lower edge of the trunk and having a pair of shelves '76 and 77 attached to the lower edge thereof. A cam follower 80 is formed on the plate '75 just above the level of the shelves. The follower 8O cooperates with the cam 72 to draw the movable section toward the wall 16, while the shelves 76 and 7'7 engage beneath the shelf .70 to hold the side of the movable section 12 firmly fixed relative to the base 14.

In closed position the Weight of the movable section 12 is borne by the upstanding walls 16 and 17 of the compartment so that no weight need be sustained by either the caster 29 or the roller 45.

It will be noted that the clamp 60 maintains the movable section 12 with the walls thereof superimposed on the walls 16 and 17 of the compartment 20 so as to form an integral unit, and that the clamping is entirely automatic and does away with the necessity for the usual key controlled lock in the position of the clamp 60.

It will also be seen that there has been provided a relatively simple roll-away device for use with wardrobe trunks or the like and it is realized that the device is susceptible to various modifications coming well within the scope of one skilled in the art and it is not, therefore, desired to limit the invention to the precise form herein shown and described, but only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a trunk of the character described, a stationary section,.a movable section hinged to said stationary section and overlying a portion thereof means to support the portion of said movable section remote from the hinge when in open position comprising, acompartment in the underlying portion of said stationary section, a closure for said compartment fixed to said movable section and a castor fixed to said closure and adapted to support said movable section in opening.

2. In a trunk of the character described, including a fixed section, a movable section hinged to said fixed section and overlying a portion thereof, means to support the side of said movable section remote from said hinge during opening, comprising a compartment in said fixed section, a closure for said compartment fixed to said movable section, a bracket fixed to said closure, a castor pivotally mounted on said bracket and having the lower edge thereof below the lower level of said closure whereby the castor supports the movable section in opening.

3. In a trunk of the character described, including a fixed section, a movable section hinged to said fixed section and overlying a portion thereof, means to support the side of said movable section remote from said hinge during opening thereof, comprising a compartment in that portion of the fixed section underlying said movable section, a closure for said compartment fixed to said movable section, a castor pivotally mounted from said closure member having the lower edge thereof normally beneath the lower edge of said closure whereby said castor may support the movable section during opening.

4. In a trunk of the character described, including a fixed section, a movable section hinged to said fixed section and overlying a'portion thereof, means to support the side of said movable section remote from said hinge, comprising a castor pivotally mounted on said movable section, a roller fixed to that portion of the fixed section underlying said movable section and a cam fixed to said movable section engageable with said roller to support said movable section for a portion of the opening movement thereof.

5. In a trunk of the character described, in-

cluding a fixed section, a movable section hinged to said fixed section and overlying a portion thereof, means to support that portion of the movable section remote from said hinge comprising a compartment in the portion of the fixed section underlying said movable section, a closure for said compartment carried by said movable section, a castor pivotally mounted on said closure, a roller supported above said compartment, a cam on said movable section engageable with said roller to support said movable section during a portion of the opening thereof, said castor supporting the movable section during the remainder of the opening.

6. In a trunk including a pair of hingedly connected sections, one of said sections having an extension at its bottom over which the other section is movable, means to support the movable section remote from the hinged connection'during opening and closing of the trunk comprising, a downwardly projecting member on one outer wall of the movable section, and an anti-friction support carried by said downwardly projecting member and engageable with the floor, said antifriction member being adapted to enter an opening in a wall of the extension over which the movable member swings and the downward extension closing said opening when the trunk is closed.

7. In a trunk including a pair of hingedly connected sections, a lateral extension at the bottom of one section over which the other section swings during opening and closing of the trunk, a corner reinforcing element having an opening aligning with an opening in the outer wall of the trunk, a member carried by the swinging section and adapted to interengage with said corner element to close the opening therein, and an antifriction support for the swingable trunk section carried by said member and adapted to project into the opening in the lateral extension when the trunk is closed.

8. In a trunk of the character described, including hingedly connected sections, one of said sections being shorter than the other, a lateral extension on the bottom or" said other section and over which the shorter section swings, one outer wall of the lateral extension having an opening therein, a compartment carried by said wall into which the opening leads, and means for supportingthe shorter trunk section during opening and closing thereof comprising, a member projecting downwardly from the lower edge thereof and adapted to close the opening in the wall of the lateral extension when the trunk is closed, and an anti-friction supporting member movable over the floor and adapted to be received in said compartment when the trunk is closed.

9. In a trunk of the character described, including complementary hingedly connected sections, the bottom of oneof which terminates at a higher level than the bottom of the other, a lateral extension at the bottom of said other section over which the shorter section swings during opening and closing of the trunk, one outer Wall of the lateral extension having an opening, a compartment carried by said Wall and into which the opening leads, an anti-friction support carried by the shorter trunk section to engage the floor and support the trunk section at a point remote from its hinged connection with the other section, said anti-friction support being receivable in said compartment through the opening leading therein, and cooperating means carried by the compartment and the shorter trunk section for elevating that portion of the trunk section remote from its hinged connection with the other section to lift the anti-friction support from the floor as it enters the compartment.

GEORGE HENRY WHEARY. 

